


What you always dreamed of

by we_have_no_bananas_today



Category: Keeper of the Lost Cities Series - Shannon Messenger
Genre: Dex gets more appreciation, F/F, Linh is a top, M/M, Rated T just for language, but still, dex/Keefe is minor just sayin, hes a good best friend and no one can convince me otherwise, not that much cause they just kiss, please someone actually stop me I’m not ok, solinh, sophie is a useless bottom
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-05-06
Updated: 2020-05-06
Packaged: 2021-03-02 19:33:44
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,806
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24042136
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/we_have_no_bananas_today/pseuds/we_have_no_bananas_today
Summary: Sophie has had a crush on Linh for what seems like forever. Who wouldn’t? She’s beautiful, and brave, and strong, and... and Sophie is hopelessly in love. She and Dex plan a sleepover to help cheer her up, but does it go according to plan? Pfft, since when does ANY plan including Sophie go right? (After this, Sophie decided that plans can go to hell because they suck, and no plan is much better)
Relationships: Dex Dizznee/Keefe Sencen, Sophie Foster/Linh Song
Comments: 7
Kudos: 29





	What you always dreamed of

**Author's Note:**

> ChrisStoryss (here they are: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ChrisStoryss/pseuds/ChrisStoryss) asked me about this, and I’m so sorry I forgot! I have a hc that elves can do something like texting through their imparters, and I believe that that hc shows up in here once or twice! So sorry! Hope that cleared it up :D

Sophie was sprawled out on her bed, thinking about the thing she most often thought of. Linh. 

Sophie knew that she (Linh, most definitely not herself) was straight and that occasionally provoked a mental breakdown. It was fine, though. If she just kept quiet for long enough, it would go away. For sure. The crush that she’d had for years would go away.

“Fuck, Sophie, what are you doing,” she groaned to herself and rubbed her eyes. 

“You good, Soph?” Dex asked from the chair in the corner of her room.

“Shit!” She screeched, sitting up. “Oh, gods, sorry, I forgot you were here.” 

“Feels nice to be appreciated,” he commented, a teasing smile on his lips. 

“No— that’s not what I... ugh. You know what I meant.” 

“Uh-huh.” He made a face that said, _Really?_

“Don’t look at me like that,” she groaned. 

He just rolled his eyes playfully and grinned. “So what’s on your mind?” 

_Linh._ “Nothing.” 

He gave her the look again and imitated her. “Fuck, Sophie, what are you doing.”

“I see Keefe has been giving you lessons,” she muttered.

“This isn’t about me.” 

“Isn’t it?” 

“Nope. What’s on your mind.” 

_Linh._

_Shut up, brain._

“Sophie,” he warned.

“What,” she snapped, a little harder than she might have meant.

“Please?”

 _What if he isn’t okay with this? Her heart started to hammer in her chest._ “I... I don’t know.” 

“What are you so scared of?” He laughed. 

Sophie just bit the inside of her cheek.

“Do you want to put it in my mind? Is that easier?” He seemed to get that this was something bigger than what he’d originally thought.

 _Would it be? Would it be easier to shove a thought out of my head? Or shove words out of my mouth. I can’t... not tell him. He’s my best friend._ Her heart was beating so loudly she was sure he could hear it.

“You can read my thoughts, too, if you want,” he offered. 

Did she want that? _Maybe. Yes._ She pulled out some eyelashes.

“Okay.” Her heart was beating so fast, and she could feel it in her ears. Her stomach was churning, and not in a good way, as she walked over to him and put her fingers on his temples. Deep breath in, deep breath out. Breathing was not helping. 

_I like girls._ She pushed the thought toward him, and couldn’t even get out of his mind, before— _Like me._

 _What?_ Sophie asked. 

_You... you’re like me._ His thoughts were... happy. Why was he happy?

_You... you like boys?_

_Well, yeah. And girls._

“Really?” She couldn’t keep it in her mind. 

“Yeah, I guess,” he said, kind of sheepishly. 

“I... oh my god! How did I not see it before?” Sophie laughed, figuring it out. 

“What? See what.” 

She gave him a teasing grin.

His cheeks went bright red. “No.” 

“You like Keefe, don’t you,” she gasped, her grin widening. 

“No!” 

“Uh-huh,” she said, the exact look that Dex gave her earlier on her face. 

He groaned. “I can’t believe you.” 

“Hm.” 

“And you like Linh, I’m guessing?” 

“Wh— how!?” Sophie spluttered.

“Oh, come on. I thought before, but then I was sure I was just making stuff up. You blush every time she even looks at you!” 

“Well, you’re not any better.” Sophie raised her eyebrows at him, but her cheeks were pink. 

“Oh, just... shut up.” 

After a moment of anxious silence, Sophie asked the question she’d wanted to ask forever. “So... how do elves feel about... this.” 

He paused for a moment, then said, “Um, from what I’ve seen and heard, it’s a lot like bad matches and multiple births. Some people don’t care, but... well, you know.” 

“Yeah.” 

“I’d imagine all of our parents are— well... no, I wouldn’t. I’d imagine Edaline and Grady, my parents, and Alden and Della are good with it. I don’t... I don’t know about Keefe or Linh and Tam’s parents.” 

Her heart dropped. Oh, Linh. “I... I guess I always thought it would be better here,” she began. “And it is, in some ways. But... I didn’t think that... that people would be as hurtful. I was so, so wrong.”

“I’m sorry.” 

“It’s not your fault. I just... I hate Keefe’s parents so much. And Linh and Tam’s. How do you do that to your children?” Sadness filled her heart for her friends.

“I don’t know, Soph. I honestly don’t know.” 

“I just want to get them away from them. I know Linh and Tam are, but Keefe...”

“Why don’t we plan a sleepover?” Dex suggested. 

Sophie lit up like a rainbow and followed Dex down the stairs to plan.

Note: I’m very sorry I had to stop you here, dear reader, but my absolute monkey brain could not write “lit up like a rainbow” without thinking “haha gay”. I’m truly sorry. Thank you for your time.

***

Once Sophie had asked Grady and Edaline about this, and they had given their approval, Sophie and Dex set to work on the arrangements. It wasn’t going to be huge, and it definitely wasn’t worth planning, but it took their minds off of things for a little bit. They invited their friends over by text, and all of them got back with positive answers from their parents/guardians. 

Grady helped them set up a huge tent big enough for all of them to sleep in, and Edaline helped with the food and planning. The tent was placed in the backyard, a little bit away from Verdi’s pasture.

Sophie and Dex sat on/at the counter (Sophie had deemed that the chair was too lowly for her, and sat on the counter), eating chips and salsa. When the doorbell rang for the first time, Sophie jumped a little. She’d never actually heard it before, but it sounded like wind chimes. She got up, brushing her hands on her leggings. 

Her heart quickened as soon as she saw Linh through the glass doors. 

Linh grinned and waved excitedly, as Tam smiled and gave her a nod in greeting through the door. Gods, she’s cute. Why does she have to be cute?

She opened the door and was met with a hug. “Hi, Sophie!” Linh chirped. Oh, gods, she smells so good. 

“Hi.” Sophie was well aware that she was grinning, and that her cheeks were on fire. 

When she pulled away, she saw Dex raising his eyebrows at her from across the room. 

_Shut up_ , she transmitted to him. 

_I didn’t say anything_ , he thought, but she could see the corners of his lips twitch upwards. 

Tam then did an awkward side-hug and they made their way over to the kitchen. Linh hugged Dex as well, but definitely not for as long. Tam opted not to.

“Ooh, what is this?” Linh asked, taking a chip. 

“You dip it in the salsa. That’s the tomato dip thingy.” 

_Tomato dip thingy? Are you trying to get her to think you’re a dumbass?_

Linh did as she was instructed, and made a surprised face. 

“Oh, it’s pretty good!” 

Sophie bit her lip to keep from smiling. 

The doorbell rang again. 

“I’ll get it!” Dex practically yelled. 

Sophie knew who it was well before he said, “Hey there, Dexinator. You opening doors for Foster now?” 

“As a gentleman should,” Dex replied.

Sophie had to applaud him on that one. _Very smooth_ , she transmitted genuinely.

 _Thank you,_ he thought.

Keefe and Dex were barely back in the room when the doorbell rang for the last time, and Sophie got up to get it, waving them to sit down. 

“C’ mere and gimme a hug first, Foster,” Keefe demanded. 

Sophie scoffed, but she stepped into the hug. Once she had escaped from his grasp, she opened the door for Fitz and Biana.

“Hey, Biana. Fitz.” 

“Sophie!” Biana gave her a quick hug and so did Fitz. 

They walked back into the kitchen to see Keefe‘s eyes watering. 

“Spicy much, Foster?” He choked out, reaching for the cups and turning on the water faucet. 

Sophie covered her mouth with her hand as Dex pulled out the bottle of hot sauce from behind his back. 

Keefe whirled around in time to see it. He gasped, his mouth falling open. “Oh, you’re going to get it, Dizznee.” 

Dex carefully put the bottle down and raised his hands. 

Keefe glared at him playfully, then smirked. “Not now. I’ll get you when you least expect it.” 

“If you insist,” Dex shrugged. 

Sophie reminded herself to ask him how he was so nonchalant with teasing Keefe. His cheeks were barely even pink. 

They all talked and teased and ate chips until dinner was ready. 

Dinner was as much of a blur as the chip-eating part, with the main portion being starkflower stew that Sophie had made herself, with a bit of help from Edaline. 

Of course, Mallowmelt was dessert. 

After that, they went outside to go set up their stuff. 

“Bet I can set up my stuff faster than all of you!” Keefe challenged them. Sophie and Dex had already set up, so they officiated. 

“On your marks,” Sophie began.

“Get set,” Dex continued. 

“Go!” Sophie yelled, and they all scrambled to get their stuff out. 

“This is so funny to watch,” Sophie whispered. 

“I know,” Dex said, grinning.

“DONE!” Keefe yelled after pulling a crumpled sleeping bag, a pillow, and Mrs. Stinkbottom out of his bag.

Sophie did her best announcer voice. “Ladies and Gentlemen, we have a winner! Tell us how good it feels to win this competition, Keefe.” She pretended to hold the mic in front of him. 

“Well, Sophie, it feels amazing! I’d love to thank my competitors for letting me have this one win to distract me from the many other disappointments of my life, such as getting the smallest piece of mallowmelt.” 

“Oh, you’re still on about that?” Tam groaned, finishing up. 

“Yes! It’s a major low in my depressing hell of a life.” 

Dex snickered as everyone else finished up and came over. 

“You guys want to go outside? It’s probably dark by now, and there might be fireflies tonight,” Sophie asked.

“Yes!” Linh exclaimed.

“Yeah! It’ll be cool,” Keefe agreed, opening the flap to the tent.

Linh looked so happy when she saw the fireflies that Sophie had to smile. What she really wanted to do was melt into the ground in a puddle.

When she finally got outside, it was either ten times worse or ten times better. Sophie couldn’t decide.

She wandered over to Verdi’s pasture, and the huge dinosaur trotted out to meet her. 

“Hey, Verdi,” she said quietly, opening the gate and letting herself in. 

She sat down, and Verdi huffed, lying down and rolling over onto her back.

She gave Sophie a look that said, _Please pet me._

Sophie smiled and scooted over a few feet. 

“This ok, girl?” She started to scratch under her chin. Verdi seemed to like it, so she just kept doing it. 

This turned out to be the perfect angle to watch her friends. 

Linh kept catching the little fireflies, excitedly prancing over to one of the other people, and showing them. Many of the others were also catching them in cupped hands.

“I’m completely insane, huh Verdi.” 

Linh was so beautiful, and she would stare at her all day if it wasn’t rude. 

“She’s so unbelievably straight,” Sophie groaned. “I hate this.” 

A firefly flew in front of Verdi’s face— a fatal mistake. She snatched it out of the air and gulped. 

Sophie huffed a laugh. “Really?” 

The dinosaur just looked at her like, _Go on, keep petting._

“Can I make myself not like her? I wonder if I can find all the stuff I hate about her and just... let it stew. Would that work?” 

“Nope,” a voice said from behind her.

“Shit! Oh, gods, Keefe, you scared me.” 

He just hummed, coming over to rub Verdi’s tummy. 

“How... how long were you listening?” Her cheeks were burning. 

“A while. You like Linh?” 

“Man, why!? Can’t you let me have a crush in peace!” Sophie joked.

Keefe laughed, and Sophie was suddenly gripped with panic. “You’re okay with that, right?” 

“Uh, yeah? Why wouldn’t I be? It would be... rather hypocritical.” 

“Hm?” 

“Nothing, never mind.” 

“Did you just... Keefe! You’re...” 

“Bi. Or pan. Dunno yet. But yeah.” 

“So who do you like?” 

“Uh... why do I have to like someone?” 

“You don’t, I just... yeah, sorry.” 

“Nah, I was teasing. I know yours— even though it’s painfully obvious —so we should be even.” 

“Wait. I want to guess.” 

“Okay. Shoot.” 

“Are they in the friend group?”

“Yes.” 

Oh, she was so getting smacked for this later, but she was doing him a favor.

“Dex?” 

Keefe didn’t answer. Sophie covered her mouth. _Oh, this is too good._ “You like Dex, don’t you?”

“I know he’s straight. You don’t have to rub it in.” 

Sophie bit the inside of her cheek, hard. That was not her secret to tell. She would not tell it. 

“Maybe. I don’t know, Keefe. If I were you, I would shoot my shot.” 

“Yeah, and I’ll do that when you confess to Linh.” 

Dammit. “Is that the only way I can convince you?” 

“Yup.” 

Sophie sighed, going back to looking at Linh. Wait— she was gone. Where did she go? Sophie stood up quickly, searching. “Sophie!” Linh was shutting the door to Verdi’s enclosure behind her.

“Oh! Linh!” 

“I caught a firefly for you. Do you want to hold it?” She made the rest of the way with her hands cupped.

“O-of course.” 

Linh opened her cupped hands and let the little bug crawl over to Sophie’s hand. Sophie was over-aware of every place her and Linh’s hands were touching. 

“What are you going to name it?” 

“I get to name it?” 

“Yeah, if you want to.” 

Sophie thought for a moment. “Bartholomew, or Bart for short.” 

Linh laughed. Gods, she could listen to that sound forever. 

“Hey, Bart,” Sophie was grinning. “You’re a cute little firefly.” 

It decided to fly away, and Sophie’s heart broke a little. She wanted to keep it forever, just because Linh gave it to her.

“Aw, Verdi. Poor dinosaur isn’t getting enough pets, huh.”

Sophie turned back to Verdi, and Keefe was gone.

The huge dinosaur made a purr-like sound as Linh stroked his stomach. 

Thief, Sophie thought. Oh, my gods, I’m jealous of a dinosaur. That is something I never thought I’d be thinking.

“How are you and Tam adjusting to Tiergan’s?” Sophie asked softly, trying to make conversation without pushing.

“It’s actually going really well. Wylie is nice, and so is Tiergan. They also have this really cute dog. His name is Prince.”

“Elves have dogs?” 

“Of course! We’re not that different from humans.” 

“You’d be surprised.” 

“Do they— er, we— own cats, too?” 

“Yeah! Once, when I was really really little, I had a friend, and her cats had kittens. I got to go over to her house when they had just opened their eyes, and it might have been the cutest thing I’ve ever seen.” 

“Really? I used to have a cat, with my human family. His name was Marty. He was grey, and fluffy, and chubby, to say the least.” 

“He sounds like a worthy companion,” Linh said softly. Sophie could hear the smile in her voice, and she wanted to melt at that. 

“Yeah.”

Sophie flashed back to all of the good memories with her human family. It started with cuddling Marty. Those were always the ones that got her. Tears pricked her eyes, but she concentrated on not letting them fall. She wasn’t about to cry in front of Linh. 

Suddenly, the girl was enveloping her in a hug. “Please don’t cry. I didn’t mean to make you cry.” 

“No, no, you didn’t,” Sophie sniffled.

“Do you want to talk about it?” Linh asked, her voice comforting. 

“No, I just... I get these things where I miss them sometimes.” 

“I’m sorry, are you uncomfortable?” Linh pulled away faster than Sophie could blink. 

“N-no,” Sophie stuttered. She had smelled so good, and the embrace had been everything. Then... _I’m never going to have this. This is a fantasy. This is a dream. This is not real._ That really got the tears rolling. 

“What... what’s wrong? Same thing?” Linh looked scared. Like she had somehow caused it. In a way, she had. But Sophie didn’t blame her at all. She didn’t know that her human family was her tender spot.

“No, it’s fine.” Her voice cracked on the last part.

“Do... do you want a hug?” 

“Um, okay.” _This isn’t real._ Linh’s hug did nothing. It was supposed to be comforting, but all she could think was, _This isn’t real._

 _Make it real_ , her brain said. 

_She would hate me._ But before she could go against her better judgment, she was kissing her. _Fuck. This is wrong. Stop._

Sophie pulled away, covering her mouth. “Shit. Oh... oh, gods.” She was shaking. “I— I’m so sorry.” 

_What do I do?_

What do people do when they’re scared? They run. So that’s what Sophie did. She backed away, unable to look at Linh, and went straight for Dex, who was now back in the tent with almost everyone else. 

“Soph? Sophie! You’re shaking!” He ran up to meet her at the entrance. 

“Linh, I-I... we... come on,” she got out, then started pulling him towards the house. 

Once they were out of earshot, Dex asked, “Sophie, what happened?” 

“I-I kissed her, Dex. A-and now she hates me.” She was sobbing, barely able to get the words out.

“Oh, Sophie.” He kneeled down on the ground and let her cry into his shoulder. “I’m sure she won’t hate you.” 

“Y-yes she-she will,” Sophie blubbered. “I fucking ki-kissed her, Dex. That’s-that’s worse than... than t-telling her!”

“Oh, Sophie. I wish I knew what to tell you. I really do. Do you want me to go kiss Keefe to make it better? Once he hates me will that make it better?”

“N-no, it’ll... it’ll only make it worse, cause then you’ll be- be crying, and-and I’ll be c-crying and... I w-wanna go to bed.”

“I know, Soph. I know.” 

“What’s going on?” Edaline asked softly, kneeling down next to them. 

“Do you want me to tell her?” Dex whispered, even though he knew Edaline could hear. 

Sophie nodded after a moment. 

“She, uh, she kissed Linh. Cause... you know. And now she thinks she’s going to hate her.” 

Edaline was dead silent for a second, no doubt a little shocked that this was how Sophie came out to her. But then she started stroked Sophie’s hair. 

“Oh, sweetie. It’s alright, I promise you she won’t hate you.” 

“Do you want me to go talk to her?” Dex offered.

Sophie shook her head. “N-no, I have to apologize to her by myself.” The tears were mostly dry by now, but she was still shaking. 

“Okay. Do you want to just talk to Edaline for a while?” 

“Y-yeah. I... I think so.” She took the first deep breath in about five minutes, and the fresh air felt so good in her lungs. 

“Okay. I’m going to go back to the tent then.” 

“Okay. I’ll see you in a little bit.” 

Dex nodded and smiled comfortingly at her.

She tried for a smile back. It half-worked. 

***

Dex walked back towards the tent with one intention. To find out what was going on with Linh. He knew he was... a little bit going against orders, but he wouldn’t talk directly to her. Just to someone that she trusted. Which person, though, was the issue. Fitz and Keefe were automatically off the list because she didn’t talk with them very much. Biana or Tam... best friend or big brother... definitely best friend. 

Speak of the devil, Biana was walking back from Verdi’s pasture. 

“What the fuck just happened.” She beat him to it. 

“You don’t know?” 

“Yes, of course, I know, and Linh is over there crying!” 

“Why is she crying,” Dex hissed, trying to keep his voice low. “When Sophie’s the one that kissed her?” 

“Cause she fucking ran away! If someone kissed you, then ran away, wouldn’t you think that they weren’t super keen on you?” 

“She fucking kissed her! She likes her!” 

“I know that, dumbass! But Linh doesn’t think that! Linh likes her back and is stuck on the part where she ran away!” 

“Linh likes her back?” 

“Sh! Yes! Obviously! Have you not seen the looks those two give each other when they’re not looking? There’s so much pining it’s like a fucking forest!” 

“Oh.” 

“Oh? Oh? That’s all you have to say? Get her the fuck over here so that they can make up and make out!” 

“I... don’t think Sophie is in the emotional state to talk right now. She could barely tell me what was going on.” 

Biana slowed her roll for a second. “Oh. I kinda forgot.” 

“Biana, why do you think she ran? She got really scared and couldn’t think of what to do. She’s still shaking.” 

“I’m sorry. But once she’s okay, get her to...” 

“Panakes tree?”

Biana gasped. “Yes! Most romantic spot. I’ll get Linh there stat.”

“Alright. Sounds good. See ya in a few.” 

They high-fived and each went back to find their half of the soon-to-be-couple.

***

“So... you like Linh, huh?” Edaline asked softly, rubbing Sophie’s back comfortingly.

Sophie’s cheeks went bright red, and her stomach fell. “You... you’re okay with that, right?” 

“Of course, sweetie. We’re you afraid that I wouldn’t be?”

“A little. Dex said you would be fine with it, but...” Sophie trailed off.

“Well... what really happened?”

Sophie took a deep breath, and let it out. Calm down. “We were talking about Marty, my cat with my human family, and I... got a little emotional, I guess. And... she was hugging me. And all I could think of was that it wasn’t real, and... I kissed her. And then I ran away. Cause I didn’t know what else to do.” 

“I see. But... you didn’t see her reaction?” 

“No, she was probably really mad.” 

“I don’t know, Sophie. What if she likes you back?” 

“She doesn’t.”

“Do you know for sure?” 

Sophie bit the inside of her cheek. 

“That’s what I thought.” There was a smidge of smugness in Edaline’s voice.

“But I don’t want to get my hopes up! She’s definitely straight.” Sophie wiped her tears away and rubbed her eyes.

“Okay. If you insist. But...” 

“I need to talk to her,” Sophie finished.

“Okay. Are you good now? Do you want me to walk you over?” 

“I...” 

“Sophie!” Dex’s breathless voice shouted from behind her. 

She turned around to find him sprinting toward her. 

“Linh’s meeting you at the Panakes tree. You wanna go now?” 

“Um...” 

“Deep breath, sweets,” Edaline reminded her. 

“Okay.” 

“Okay! Let’s go!” The edges of Dex’s lips were twitching into a smile. 

Why is he so happy? Does she like me back?

No, you’re overthinking. Something probably happened with Keefe. 

What if I’m not?

You are. That’s the only explanation. 

Even as she walked, Sophie couldn’t help her mind from wandering. 

“How are the others? What do they think is happening?” 

“Keefe’s keeping them distracted. At this point, it’s just Tam and Fitz, and I’m pretty sure Tam has an idea.” 

“What about Biana?” 

“She was talking to Linh.” 

“Oh.” Biana would hate her too. Great. And Tam. Tam would be furious. 

As they made their way up the hill, butterflies turned into bile, and she had to remind herself that throwing up would not be too attractive. 

“I’ll be waiting back with the others,” Dex whispered, and turned around.

“O-okay.” She took a deep breath and made it the rest of the way up the hill.

Linh was sitting, leaning up against the tree. 

“Hi,” Linh greeted her as she sat down.

“Hi.” Before Linh could say anything else, she launched into the speech she had prepared in the last five seconds. “So, I know you’re mad at me, and I’m really really sorry. I overstepped there and that was really wrong of me. Can we still be friends? I don’t want this to ruin that. I...” She huffed a nervous laugh. “I made a mistake. I’m sorry.”

Linh just blinked at her. “What?” 

Sophie went back over the conversation in her head. “What what?” 

“Sophie...” her lips were curling into the prettiest smile— no. A smile. “You know you’re really oblivious sometimes?” 

Sophie scoffed. “Yeah, I know. Everyone tells me that.” 

Linh laughed. “And you’re still not understanding.” She cleared her throat. “Um, I... like you back.” Her lips brushed Sophie’s cheek just as Sophie turned her head tremendously fast. “Wha—“ 

Their lips connected. It might have been amazing, but Sophie’s head was spinning too fast to even notice. She pulled away. “You-you do?” 

Linh’s cheeks were bright red. “Um... yeah.” 

Sophie rubbed her eyes. “Pinch me.” 

Linh smiled. “If anything, I’m the one dreaming.” 

Sophie let out a breath she didn’t realize she’d been holding. “Wow. That’s...” 

“Yeah.” 

“C-can I kiss you again?” 

Linh’s smile only widened. “Please.” 

And Sophie did the thing she’d been thinking about for only about a few years. She kissed Linh. For the third time. But it felt better than the other times. It felt amazing. 

“May I?” Linh whispered onto her lips, motioning to her lap. “It would be more comfortable.”

Sophie was wordless and just nodded. Linh climbed on top of her lap and pressed her lips against hers again. It was quite possibly one of the best things Sophie had experienced. Linh tasted like peppermint and smelled like lavender, and Sophie couldn’t help but smile.

“You know Dex and Biana are probably watching, right?” she whispered, unable to stop smiling.

“Mm,” Linh hummed in response. 

_This is what I’ve always dreamed of,_ Sophie thought. _And it’s perfect._

Bonus!!!! Mini-chapter from Dex’s POV!!! We stan one bi icon <3

As soon as Dex got home, he unpacked. That was just what he did. He didn’t procrastinate like most people would. So pretty much as soon as he had finished tidying up his room and unpacking everything, the doorbell rang. Probably Sophie bringing something that I forgot. Or one of Mom or Dad’s friends, he thought. 

“Dex!” His mom yelled up the stairs. First option, then. 

“Yeah! Coming!” he shouted back down. 

“Hey Soph, what’d I forget this— oh. Keefe. Hi.” 

He gulped down butterflies. Not now. 

“Hey there, Dexinator. Uh, you mind if we talk?” 

“Sure!” His voice was higher pitched than normal. Don’t fuck this up, Dex. 

“Um,” Dex turned to his mom. “We’re just gonna...” 

“Sounds good. Would you like to stay for lunch?” she asked Keefe. 

“Um... kinda depends. On... my dad.” 

“Oh. Well, Kesler will be making lunch, so I’ll tell him to make enough for you.” 

“Thank you very much.” 

Stop talking, please, and just tell me what you want to say.

Dex led him upstairs to his room, incredibly glad he’d just cleaned it. 

He closed the door and sat his bed. Keefe looked a little uncomfortable and nervous, so he motioned to the space next to him. 

Keefe shot him a grateful look and sat down. “So... I’m going to get straight to the point. Or... I’m going to get to the point. Um, I like you, and Sophie and I made a deal...” 

Dex couldn’t even hear the rest. “Y-you what?” He blurted. 

“Sophie and I made a deal that if she confessed to Linh—“ 

“Not that part, dumbass, the other part.” 

“Um, I like you? Er... liked you. Is that better?” He looked super uncomfortable now.

Dex blinked. “Um, I-I like you too. Back. Um, I don’t know. Unless you didn’t mean like-like. Then... um...” 

Keefe sucked in a breath. “Did Sophie just set us up?” 

Click. “You told her about your... me?” 

“Uh, yeah. Did you?” 

Dex laughed. “Yes. Of course. She was so weird.” 

“Oh my gods, no wonder she wanted me to take that deal. And that she made me come here.” 

After a few more moments of uncomfortable silence, Dex asked, “So... you really like me?” 

“Yeah. And...?” 

“Yeah.” 

“So, um, can I kiss you?” Keefe asked nervously. He was very cute when he was nervous, with his blushing cheeks and little nervous smile.

“Yes,” Dex blurted, unable to stop himself. 

“O-ok.” Keefe leaned in and their lips were on each other. This is much better than the kiss with Sophie, Dex thought.

Keefe pulled away, and Dex smiled and stuttered, “Um. Wow.” 

“Yeah. You... you wanna keep doing that?” Keefe asked, still nervous

“Like you even have to ask,” Dex whispered as Keefe leaned closer again. He ended up staying for lunch. 


End file.
